Did you play with a coloring book as a child? Remember the vibrant hues of crayons or markers, the imaginative pictures, and the feeling of joy and accomplishment from creating beauty at so young an age? Coloring book pictures of animals, fairies, princesses, or geometric shapes let kids learn more about fantasy and the real world while having fun. If you want to encourage coloring for kids in your family, classroom, or neighborhood as a way to learn and play at the same time, shop for a suitable children’s coloring book that will hold kids’ attention and keep them busy with coloring book fun. Here are a few suggestions for choosing a coloring book for the children in your life.

1. Choose an age appropriate coloring book.

When you go shopping at a toy store or in the kids’ aisle of a department store, you probably will discover several types of coloring books for kids of all ages. Choose one or more that best fits your children’s stage of development:

For toddlers, choose a children’s coloring book with large images on each page. The figures, shapes, or patterns should have edges that are thick and dark to help children color within the edges. Pictures should resemble things that preschoolers are familiar with, like animals, families, fairy tale figures, and nature. For this age group, you usually can start them with the basic color spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, and brown.

Teach them to recognize and say the name of each color, and to experiment with various color combinations as well as to color real things with their regular colors (like a brown or spotted cow or a green flower stem).

This is a great activity for teaching small children the names of everyday objects to expand their vocabulary. It can also help them explore fantasy worlds of fairy tales and myths.

Elementary-age schoolchildren may enjoy coloring book fun that includes more challenges. For example, connecting the dots is one way to encourage their critical thinking skills and hand-eye coordination. A children’s coloring book with captions below the pictures reinforces children’s reading skills and helps them interpret visual images. Finding a missing object or extra item in a picture to be colored is another fun activity. Some coloring books tell a story throughout each page and finish at the end. Others tell short stories by following a specific theme throughout the book, with a different, unrelated scene on each page. Let your kids pick out coloring books they are interested in so it keeps their attention.

Children also can learn and practice higher-order thinking skills by analyzing a picture and describing who’s doing what or why something should be a certain color. Kids can compare images, explain the steps leading from one picture to another, and evaluate a character’s action to decide whether it’s right or wrong (like a values-based coloring book showing little Johnny stealing apples from his neighbor’s tree). Don’t go for a heavy discussion, but watch for ways to use the coloring activity as an educational supplement to fun activities.

3. Be willing to share in the fun with the kids.

Even grownups like to color pictures, sometimes. Without competing with your child, try your hand at coloring an image or assisting younger kids with their pictures. You can talk about how you used to color as a child, and which children’s coloring books you used to play with. Some kids really enjoy hearing about their parents’ childhood, and the sharing time adds to the bonding experience. Let them know your favorite pictures, colors, and themes, and listen to their choices while you discuss their views and opinions.

4. Teach children to color the pictures with appropriate crayons, paints or markers.

Certain coloring books require crayons only (if they are vinyl pages, for example). Others may be colored with markers or children’s watercolor paint sets. Make sure the pages won’t smear and seep into following pages if you use anything other than crayons.

Choose non-toxic crayons and markers for your kids just in case they try to chew on them (remind them not to do this). Keep the coloring book and crayons in an organized toy area where they can be easily located when needed. Teach your children how to put away paints after cleaning up the mess, and how to put crayons and markers in their containers so they won’t get lost all over the house. This helps children learn to be responsible for their toys and is a great habit that will be needed as their responsibilities increase when they mature.

5. Use the coloring book as an alternative to passive entertainment.

A coloring book is cheap and simple compared to video games, television kids’ shows and online surfing. But it can be of greater value in some cases, providing kids the opportunity to be kids—and not be brainwashed by adult-oriented material in the other media. Coloring book fun engages the hands and mind in a meaningful way that lets kids use their imaginations instead of relying on external sources of entertainment and mental stimulation, providing good exercise for the brain’s development.

6. Keep the used coloring books for happy memories.

Don’t throw away your children’s coloring book, as it holds valuable and lasting memories of their playtime with each other, and their bonding time with you.

Put them away in a safe place, and when they’re a little older, take them out for some fun talks about the good old days and the funny or cute pictures that were colored. Write the kids’ names on the book, along with the dates that pictures were individually colored, or the general date the book was used (i.e., “winter 2008”) so you’ll have an idea of the kids’ ages and the family circumstances during that time.

A coloring book is more than a passive play activity. It’s a great opportunity for parents and kids to bond and for parents or teachers to guide children’s minds into fun-filled activities that kids will love.

You can even make your own coloring books on the computer or manually by tracing objects onto white paper, like a large leaf or a farm animal. Then bind the pages together and let kids color them as they would a regular coloring book. Shapes of your children’s hands, facial features and favorite book covers can be copied or imprinted on a page and colored for fun.

Don’t miss out on the fun of the good old days by neglecting to get your kids a coloring book. Buy or make this special old-fashioned playtime activity that will give them the same enjoyable childhood memories that you have today. With all the design options available nowadays, you can make your own coloring book or buy one of hundreds in the stores. Use a variety of coloring crayons, markers, pens, pencils, and paints to experiment with color, shadings, and shadows that will teach your kids to appreciate borders and boundaries while encouraging their creativity.

What Is Your Parenting Style?

Whether you are a new or seasoned parent, your parenting style is probably based upon those of your parents, with a tendency to lean more toward one than the other. Do you actively seek out parenting advice or are you annoyed when others have the audacity to offer it to you? Take this parenting style quiz to determine whether your style is permissive or authoritative when it comes to handling the children.